Obama Visiting Mosque

JIM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Obama to meet with Muslim Americans in his first-ever presidential visit to a U.S. mosque - President Obama will visit a mosque in Baltimore this week to meet with Muslim Americans — his first-ever presidential trip to a Muslim house of worship in the U.S.

In a public show of support designed to show solidarity with a Muslim community under siege by various Republican presidential candidates, Obama will hold talks with leaders at the Islamic Society of Baltimore on Wednesday, the White House announced.

Obama will use his visit to "celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life" and will "reiterate the importance of staying true to our core values: welcoming our fellow Americans, speaking out against bigotry, rejecting indifference and protecting our nation's tradition of religious freedom," the White House said in a statement late Saturday.

While Obama has visited several mosques in foreign countries during various visits as President, he has never set foot in one in the U.S. during his tenure as commander-in-chief.

The visit will amount to a public embrace of Muslims by Obama at a time when public sentiment against them seems to be growing, largely fueled by fears of terrorist acts carried out by extremist groups.

His visit also comes as Republican 2016 front-runner Donald Trump has called for the U.S. to ban all Muslims from entering the country, a controversial proposal he claims would keep the country safe from terrorism.

Obama has been outspoken in his criticism of that plan.

Others GOP presidential candidates have called on Congress to limit, or prevent altogether, the resettlement of refugees from Muslim countries like Iraq and Syria in the U.S., citing potential security risks.

Obama has argued that such efforts are wrong and serve only to incite extremist groups, weaken America's leadership around the world and put U.S. security at risk.